Malou was raised and lives on her long-time family ranch north of Yellowstone Park, within the headwaters of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where the family raised and managed domestic animals for nearly 75 years, including horses, cattle, and sheep. The family’s longtime values center around adaptation, not imposition, land and animal connection, supporting natural systems, and the wonder of the wild places. In more recent years and with a continued shift toward regenerative practices, the ranch now seasonally grazes grass-finished cattle alongside thriving populations of grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and more. Malou is the co-founder of the Tom Miner Basin Association, manages Grizzly Creek Ranch & Retreat, and has an active practice in equine therapy. Her most important role is mother to two lovely, young, mountain women, Esmé and Hasell.

Catherine is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Residential College at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on landscape history and biodiversity, as well as on sustainable agriculture. She teaches courses about environmental science, the food system, and biogeography.  She lives on an organic farm near Chelsea, Michigan.

Wendell is a Great Valley native and comes to the Wild Farm Alliance Board from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) where he enjoyed a 34-year career, primarily as a field conservationist.  After retirement from NRCS, he worked for Point Blue Conservation Science to help initiate their Working Lands Program, characterized by a cadre of Partner Biologists and their Rangeland Monitoring Program.  Wendell brings his knowledge and experience with fish and wildlife biology, ecology, habitat management and restoration as well expertise working with private landowners to plan, design, implement and monitor conservation actions on their working (farms, ranches, and forest) lands.  

Dan is director of Watershed Media, a non-profit 501(c)(3) communications agency. He is the author of Farming with the Wild, a book identifying models and resources to help farmers incorporate conservation practices in their farms and watersheds. He has also written a number of articles on the wild farm concept.

Dan directs Salmon-Safe, an organization devoted to restoring water quality and salmon habitat in agricultural and urban landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.

Sara is a conservation biologist and agroecologist and has spent over a decade conducting research to understand the complex interactions between wildlife and people in agricultural landscapes. Sara was a founding member of the Marlborough Falcon Conservation Trust in New Zealand, a David H. Smith Conservation Postdoctoral Fellow and was a faculty member at Columbia University before moving to her current position as Senior Lecturer in Terrestrial Ecology at University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Kathya E. Orozco Medina is an attorney based in San Francisco, California. Originally from Jalisco, Mexico, Kathya immigrated to the United States at the age of 17, settling in the rural landscapes of Mendocino County. The experience of navigating a new culture and language during those formative years shaped her deep commitment to equity, advocacy, and environmental justice for underserved communities. Kathya went on to earn a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she combined a passion for public interest law with a growing concern for the environmental challenges facing vulnerable communities. Today, as a practicing attorney, Kathya brings a legal perspective to the fight for climate resilience, equitable access to natural resources, and protection of frontline communities disproportionately affected by environmental harm. With lived experience as an immigrant and a personal connection to rural and urban California, Kathya is proud to support The Wild Farm Alliance’s work to advance environmental justice and sustainability for all.

Michael is president of Roots of Change (a project of the Public Health Institute) and is a national food movement organizer and thought leader on food and farming systems needed for the 21st Century. He farmed organically for three years in Sonoma County, and in 1992 founded Ag Innovations Network, where he began his work on consensus building and strategic planning to create healthier food and agriculture.